Stony Brook student Gui Williams has been busy pursuing his musical career by releasing his debut EP, “Oaths of the Heart,” last month and then performing at the Amityville Music Hall on Sept. 21.
His EP, short for extended play, consists of six songs, which makes it too short to be considered an album. The songs center around love and his past and current romantic relationships, which are major themes of his original works. They can be found on iTunes and Spotify for anyone who wishes to hear his melodic tunes.
“The idea is to represent all the nuances of a relationship in six songs, meaning the mellow part with the piano songs and breathy vocals,” Williams said. “It goes to the more exciting part, where everything falls into place until heartbreak.”
At the Amityville Music Hall, he strummed his guitar to songs from his EP as well as a few songs that will be part of his next project. That night, other local artists and bands performed on the same stage as Williams like 21-year-old DJ Etra Indigo, Hicksville singer Kalene Speranza and hardcore punk band Truth in Needles.
This was Williams’ second time taking the stage at that venue. His first performance two years ago was for a fundraising event for the United Breast Cancer Foundation.
He has performed at other venues to showcase his musical talent, and even for special events and holidays. On Sept. 4, he played at Bar Nine in Manhattan. He also played in a Christmas program that was broadcast on Time Warner Cable about two years ago.
Williams is known for his pop/rock sound, but he frequently performs other genres to keep the audience entertained.
“I normally play pop and rock, contemporary Christian and in some songs, I go to my bossa nova roots using English lyrics with a jazzy chord progression,” Williams said.
The singer was born and raised in Brazil, where his grandfather was a famous guitar player. Hearing his grandfather’s music inspired him to start playing the guitar as well. When Williams turned 15, he began singing and performing at Christian churches throughout Brazil.
“Growing up listening to my grandfather play is how I became interested in learning how to play the guitar,” Williams said. “I was part of the teen worship team of various churches throughout my teen years.”
He is currently working on another EP, which is set to be released in four months. He hopes to bring a new sound to his fans.
Correction: Sept. 24, 2016
A previous version of this story erroneously reported that Gui Williams was a Stony Brook University alum. At the time of publication, he was still a student of the university.
